Aquarium siphon

ABSTRACT

A siphon for siphoning water from an aquarium into a bucket includes a siphon tube having a first end for insertion into the tank and a second end for insertion into the bucket. A first pair of magnets is provided for releasably attaching the siphon tube to the tank and a second pair of magnets is provided for releasably attaching the siphon tube to the bucket. The siphon further includes a magnetic float valve for closing the second end of the siphon tube when the water in the bucket reaches a predetermined level.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based on and claims the benefit of U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 61/080,738, entitled “IMPROVED FISH TANK SIPHON,” theentire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to aquariums and, moreparticularly, to new and improved siphons for aquariums.

An important step in maintenance of aquariums is regular vacuuming ofthe gravel or substrate using water siphon. This removes debris anddroppings from the substrate without disturbing the aquarium's waterconditions.

When using current siphons many things can go wrong. The user must bevery careful when performing the operation and it is typically a verymessy process. The amount of water removed needs to be monitored, thehose can come out of the bucket, the bucket can overflow, you mustconstantly hold the hose inside the aquarium so it doesn't fall out ofthe aquarium while supporting the hose so it doesn't kink. The hosedrips as it moves in and out of the aquarium and interruptions duringthe process cause stopping and restarting of the entire process

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is a general object of the present invention to provide an improvedsiphon which greatly simplifies the siphoning procedure and avoids thedrawbacks of prior siphons by automatically stopping the siphoningprocess when the correct amount of water has been removed from theaquarium.

These and other objects of the invention are achieved by a siphon forsiphoning water from an aquarium into a bucket, which includes a siphontube having a first end for insertion into the tank and a second end forinsertion into the bucket. The siphon tube is releasably attached to thetank and releasably attached to the bucket. Means are provided forclosing the second of the siphon tube when the water in the bucketreaches a predetermined level.

Other aspects, features and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following description of the invention whichrefers to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an elevation view of a siphon illustrating certain features ofthe present invention used to siphon the contents of an aquarium.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 1 illustrating analternative embodiment thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to the drawings and, in particular, referring to FIG. 1,there is shown an embodiment of a siphon 10 illustrating certainfeatures of the present invention used to siphon the contents of anaquarium 12 into a bucket 14.

The siphon hose 16 is secured to the aquarium 12 using two magnets 18,20to hold the hose at the top of the aquarium so it can't be pulled out ofthe aquarium if you let it go for a moment. This securing is veryhelpful in that it allows one hand to be in the aquarium to move coralsand other decorations that the sediment collects under while the hosestays put. Also, if interrupted you do not need to stop the entireprocedure and restart it. The securing magnetic mounts are placed on thehose so that there is just enough hose in the aquarium to reach theentire aquarium bottom. It also relieves the pressure that might havekinked the hose at the top of the aquarium. Previously, the hose wasalways being pulled down by the weight of the hose and water in it andone had to fight this pressure constantly to move the hose. With thehose now secured by the mounting magnets, the process is now greatlysimplified. Also, the process is not nearly as messy. Previously, thehose was wet and dripped when it was pulled in and out of the aquariumas it was moved while vacuuming different areas.

The top securing magnets 18, 20 also eliminate another problem as thehose 16 tended to kink at the top of the aquarium 12. The weight of thehose 16 pulling down and the force of moving the hose 16 in the aquarium12 caused the hose to restrict the flow where it bends at the top of theaquarium. The magnet mount 18, 20 eliminates this by providing a strainfree radius over the top of the aquarium 12.

Another pair of mounting magnets 22, 24 secures the end of the hose 16inside the bucket 14 collecting the dirty water. This end had a tendencyto be pulled out of the bucket 14 as the hose was constantly being movedduring the process using previous siphons. It is not only secured withthis system, but it is secured at the exact level set so just the rightamount of water is removed. For example, if you have a ten gallonaquarium and need to do a 20% water change, the magnet mount secures theend of the hose at that desired 2 gallon level.

This system has a magnetic float valve 28 designed to stop the flow whenthe correct amount of dirty water is removed. As the water level in thebucket 26 rises to the desired level, the float 30 in the valve bodyfloats up and contains a magnet or metal disk 31 in the top of thefloat. When this magnet 31 floats up close to the end of the hose 16,the flow is automatically stopped. The end of the hose 16 also has amagnet or metal ring 33 at its end and when the water level brings thetwo into proximity, they grab each other and stop the flow after thecorrect level of water is reached automatically, as preset by the heightin the bucket where it was secured.

This valve 28 is also great if the phone rings or any other interruptioncomes up. If you need to pause the process, you can simply let go of thesiphon tube 16 as it is secured in the aquarium, then manually cause thevalve 28 to lock by raising the float 30 stopping the flow. When you areready to resume, just pull the float 30 back down, then resume theprocess. The valve 28 also enables you to start the process without theneed to suck on the end of the hose to start the siphon. This can bedone by placing the hose 16 in the water, closing the valve 28, and thenremoving some of the hose from the water. The water in the hose can thenautomatically start the siphon when the valve 28 is opened. This can bedone using either end of the hose. The end of the hose with the valvecan also be submerged a bit and sealed to hold a bit of water to startthe process when the valve is opened.

FIG. 2 shows more details of the mounting of the magnets. Note that inFIG. 1 one of the magnets 18 of the top pair 18, 20 is mounted on theaquarium while the other 20 is mounted on the hose 16, and one of themagnets 22 of the bottom pair 22, 24 is mounted on the bucket 14 whilethe other 24 is mounted on the hose 16. In FIG. 2, both magnets of eachpair are mounted on the hose.

In FIG. 1, the magnets 20, 24 are secured to the siphon tube 16 by theuse of Velcro frames 32 and Velcro straps 34. The magnets 18, 22 areheld in place by the magnetic attraction of magnets 20, 24,respectively. Similarly, in FIG. 2, the upper pair of magnets 20, 22 isheld in place by a combination of magnetic attraction, Velcro frames 32and Velcro straps 34. Although not shown in FIG. 2, the lower pair ofmagnets is similarly attached to the siphon tube 16.

The term “aquarium” as used herein means any tank, bowl, or otherwater-filled enclosure in which aquatic animals and/or plants are kept.

This system can be added to an existing siphon by simply adding the twomagnetic mounts and the valve.

Although the present invention has been described in relation toparticular embodiments thereof, many other variations and modificationsand other uses will become apparent to those skilled in the art. It ispreferred, therefore, that the present invention be limited not by thespecific disclosure herein, but only by the appended claims.

1. A siphon for siphoning water from an aquarium into a bucket, comprising: a siphon tube having a first end for insertion into the tank and a second end for insertion into the bucket; means for releasably attaching the siphon tube to the tank; means for releasably attaching the siphon tube to the bucket; and means for closing the second end of the siphon tube when the water in the bucket reaches a predetermined level.
 2. A siphon for siphoning water from an aquarium into a bucket, comprising: a siphon tube having a first end for insertion into the tank and a second end for insertion into the bucket; magnet means for releasably attaching the siphon tube to the tank; magnet means for releasably attaching the siphon tube to the bucket; and magnet means for closing the second end of the siphon tube when the water in the bucket reaches a predetermined level.
 3. A siphon for siphoning water from an aquarium into a bucket, comprising: a siphon tube having a first end for insertion into the tank and a second end for insertion into the bucket; a first pair of magnets for releasably attaching the siphon tube to the tank; a second pair of magnets for releasably attaching the siphon tube to the bucket; and a magnetic float valve for closing the second end of the siphon tube when the water in the bucket reaches a predetermined level.
 4. A siphon according to claim 3, wherein the second end of the siphon tube includes a first magnetically attractive element and the magnetic float valve includes a float having a second magnetically attractive element, the float being responsive to the level of water within the tank for lifting the float for moving the second magnetically attractive element into sealing engagement with the first magnetically attractive element to prevent any further water from being siphoned from the aquarium into the bucket.
 5. A siphon according to claim 4, wherein one of the magnets of the first pair is mounted on the aquarium while the other is mounted on the hose, and one of the magnets of the second pair is mounted on the bucket while the other is mounted on the hose.
 6. A siphon according to claim 4, wherein both magnets of the first and second pairs of magnets are each mounted on the siphon hose. 